Press for cutting or punching sheet material.



A. R. SCHOENKY. P RESS FOR CUTTlNG OR PUNCHING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICAT ION FILED 050.12.1911.

Patented Mar. 4, 1919.

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Augusr R. choenky' WM WkW Attvs.

A. R. SCHOENKY.

PRESS FOR CUTTING 0R PUNCHING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I2, I91].

Patented Mar. 4,1919.

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AUGUST 3. SCHOENKY, or SOMEIWILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR To REECE SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or M INE.

PRESS'FOR CUTTING OR PUNCHING SHEET MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'Application flled December 12, 1917. Serial No. 206,726.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, AUGUST R. SOHOENKY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Somerville, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Presses for Cutting or Punching Sheet Material, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This inventionrelates to a press for cutting or punching sheet material of the type shown in United States Patent No. 1,228,834, dated June 5, 1917, and granted on an application filed by me. Machines of this type are designed for dieing out various shaped blanks from sheet material, one common use being that of dieing out leather to constitute the upper parts of boots and shoes. The machine shown in the above-mentioned patent comprises a main frame, a table which supports a cutting block and which is provided with a depending portion that is secured to and adjustable vertically on the main frame, and a vertically-movable head or presser located above the cutting block and adapted to act on the cutting dies to perform the dieing-out operation, said head being capable of swinging laterally so that it can be brought over any desired portion of the cutting block. The machine illustrated in said patent is operated by power and is provided with a manually-controlled clutch device constructed so that when the actuating or controlling lever or treadle is depressed, the clutch is thrown in operation thereby reciprocating the presser or head, the reciprocation of the latter continuing until the clutch is released.

In the use of a machine of this type it has been found that when the material on the front corners of the cutting block are being died out, the pressure developed by the head causes the table to yield slightly, and as a result if the material is of a tough nature, the yield may be sufficient so that the die will not be forced clear through the Sheet material. by one downward reciprocation of the head, in which case it is necessary to cause the head to have two or three reciprocations while the die remains in the same place in order to make a clean out.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a novel construction which obviates or prevents any tendency of the corners of the table to yield when pressure is applied thereto, thus making it possible to produce as clean a cut with the one reciprocation of Patented Mar. 1, 1919.

the head at the corners as it is when the. cutting takes place at the center of the block.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved driving mechanism for the press by which when the clutch-actuating treadle is depressed, the driving shaft will make one complete revolution and will then be brought to rest, even though the treadle remains in its depressed position.

In order to given an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described, after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a side view of a press embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail, of the clutch-actuating device;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the press.

1 indicates a main frame on which the operative parts of the machine are supported. These operative parts comprise a cutting block 2 on which the material to be cut is placed and which is usually made of blocks of wood clamped together, a table 3 on which the cutting block is sustained, and a presser or head 4: which is situated over the cutting block and is adapted to have vertical movement toward and from the latter. The presser 4 is sustained on a vertically-movable ram 5 which extends through suitable bearings 6 carried by the main frame and which is vertically reciprocated from a driving shaft 7 having a driving pulley 8 thereon, said shaft having an eccentric portion 9 surrounded by an cecentric strap 10 which in turn is pivotally connected to the lower end of the plunger. The head 4 is pivotally mounted on the plunger so that it can swing laterally thereby to bring it over any portion of the cutting block 2. The table 3 is provided with a depending portion in the form of a plunger or shank 11 which fits within a recess formed in the frame 1. This plunger or shank is provided with a nut 12 through which is screw-threaded an adjusting screw 13 having a hand-wheel fast thereto by which it may be turned, said screw being swiveled in and carried by a washer 14 which rests on the shoulder 15 formed on the frame 1. The

adjusting screw 13 thus provides means for vertically adjusting the cutting block to accommodate cutting dies of different dimenslons.

The construction as thus far described is or may be all as shown in the above-mentioned patent and forms no part of my pres ent invention.

In operating machines of this type I have found that when the cutting is being performed over the corners 16 of the block there is a tendency for the corners of the block and table to yield or give slightly so that if stock of a tough nature is being cut the die sometimes is not forced completely through the stock during one reciprocation of the presser 1, and to obviate the tendency of the corners of the table to give, I have provided means for bracing and stiffening said corners. In the preferred embodiment of my invention the bracing means for the corners 16 are so constructed that they are not disturbed by any vertical adjustment of the table 3. Each corner 16 of the table I is supported and braced by a brace member 17 which is preferably adjustable as to its length and which in theconstruction shown extends from the corner of the table to the bottom of the plunger 11. The table 3 is formed on its under side at each corner with a socket 18 and the brace 17 is provided at its upper end with a ball portion 19 which is received in said socket. At its lower end each brace is provided with another ball portion 20 which rests in a socket 21 formed in the plunger 11. There is one brace 17 supporting each of the front corners of the table 3, and the frame 1 is formed with openings 22 through which the braces 17 extend. Each brace is made adjustable as to its length so that it can be extended to place the corners of the table under slight strain if necessary, thus completely counteracting any tendency of these corners to give when the cutting pressure is applied thereto. The braces may be made in various ways without departing from my invention. In the construction shown the body of the brace is formed from a tubular member 23, the lower ball-shaped end 20 is formed on a separate member 25 which is inserted into the lower end of the tubular member and which is provided with a shoulder 26 against which the end of the tubular member rests, and the upner ball-shapcd end 19 is formed on a member 24 which extends into the upper end of the tubular member 23 and is screw-threaded through an adjusting nut 27 that rests on the upper end of said tubular member. The length of the brace can be adjusted by simply turning the nut 27.

It will be noted that the braces are not permanently attached either to the table 3 or the plunger 11, but that the ends thereof simply fit into the sockets 18 and 21. This construct-ion has the advantage that the braces can be readily put into place or removed as occasion requires. I propose to adjust the braces so that they will exert a considerable upward pressure on the corners of the table and thus any tendency of the corners to yield or give when pressure is applied thereto is entirely eliminated and it is possibleto make as clean a cut at the ends of the block as it is at the central portion thereof.

The construction above described wherein the lower ends of' the braces are seated in sockets formed in the plunger 11 which is rigid with the table 3 has the advantage that the table and plunger may be vertically adjusted by means of the adjusting screw 13 without affecting in any way the adjustment of the braces. The openings 22 are made of considerable vertical dimension so as to permit of vertical movement of the braces 17 as the table 3 is adjusted vertically.

The driving shaft 7 by which the head 4 is reciprocated is adapted to be clutched to the driving pulley 8 by a suitable clutch device indicated generally at 28 and which may have the construction illustrated in detail in the above mentioned Patent No. 1,228,834. The clutch illustrated in said patent comprises a clutch dog pivotally mounted on a collar fast on the driving shaft and acted on by a spring which tends to throw it out into clutching engagement with any one of a number of clutch shoulders formed on the inside of the hub of the driving pulley. A clutch-disengaging shoe or cam is employed which in one position engages the clutch dog'and holds it in its inoperative position free from the clutch shoulders on the hub of the driving pulley, but when the shoe is withdrawn from engagement with the dog, then the latter is automatically thrown out into clutching engagement with said clutch shoulders. Inasmuch as the clutch which is employed in the machine'hcrein shown is similar to that illustrated in the above-mentioned patent, I have not thought it necessary to illustrate the clutch in detail.

The rollar which carries the clutch dog is indicated at 29 and the clutch shoulders are formed on the inside of the hub 28 of the driving pulley 8. The shoe which normally holds the clutch dog inoperative is indicated at 30 and is carried by the lower end of a lever 31 which is pivoted to the frame at 32. W hen the shoe 30 is in the position shown in Fig. 1 it is in position to engage theclutch dog and hold the latter inoperative so that the pulley 8 can rotate freely, but when the shoe 30 is moved to the left, 1, itis withdrawn from the clutch dog and the latter is thrown into operative position. thereby clutching the pulley 8 to the shaft 7.

For a more complete understanding of this clutch, reference to the aboveanentioned patent may be had. In said patent a treadle device is employed which is connected to the lever 31 so that when the treadle is de pressed the lever 31 is swung to withdraw the shoe 30 from engagement with the clutch dog and allow the clutch to become operative, said clutch remaining operative so long as the treadle is held depressed. I have provided herein a treadle device and suitable connectionsbetween it and the shoe 30 so that when the treadle is depressed, the. shoe will be withdrawn from the clutch dog,

thereby setting the clutch in operation, but will be immediately returned to its operative position again even though the treadle remains depressed, so that the driving shaft will make only one-revolution and will then come to rest.

The treadle by which the clutch is operated is shown as a rod 35 which is supported in two arms 36 fast on a rock-shaft 37. Said rock shaft has an upwardlydirected arm 38 fast thereon, the upper end of which is connected to one end of a link 33 which is pivoted to the lever 31 at 34. The link 33 has one end of a pulling spring 39 connected thereto at 40, the other end of said spring being connected to the frame at 41 so that the tendency of the spring 39 is to carry the lever 31 to the right and thus maintain the shoe 30 in its operative clutchdisengaging position.

The end of the link 33 is provided with a notch 42 which is adapted to receive a pin 43 carried by the upper end of the arm 38. A spring 44 connected at one end to the link and at the other end to the arm 38 yieldingly holds the pin 43 in the notch 42. The end of the link 39 is beveled, as shown at 45, and carried by the frame is an abutment 46 situated in line with the beveled end 45 of the link. The parts are shown in Fig. l in the position they occupy when the clutch is disengaged.

To render the clutch operative the treadle 35 depressed thereby swinging the upper end of the lever 38 to the left, this movement acting through the link 33 to withdraw the shoe from the clutch dog. Just as the clutch is thrown into engagement the beveled end 45 of the link engages the abutment 46, and as soon as this occurs, further movement of the arm 38 causes the beveled end of the link to have a camming action against the abutment 46 which raises the link relative to the arm 38 thereby withmaintained in its depressed position. As soon as the treadle is released a spring 47 which is connected at one end to the arm 38 and at the other end to the frame 1 acts to return the treadle and arm 38 to the posi tion shown in Fig. 1, and as soon as the pin 43 is brought under the notch 42, the spring 44 draws the end of the link down, thus causing the notch to embrace the pin thereby connecting the arm 38 to the link It will thus be seen that I have provided means for automatically disconnecting the arm 38 from the link 33 each time that the treadle is actuated to render the clutch operative, and have also provided auton'latically-operative means to return the shoe 30 to its operative position as soon as the link is disconnected from the arm 38.

I claim:

1. In a power press, the combination with a main frame having a recess, of a table for supporting a cutting block, said table having rigid therewith a depending plunger which fits said recess, means cooperating with said plunger for adjusting said table vertically in said frame, and braces extending from the corners of the table to the lower end of the plunger, said braces being vertically adjustable with the table.

2. In a power press, the combination with a main frame having a recess, of a table for supporting a cutting block, said table having rigid therewith a depending plunger which fits in said recess, means cooperating with the depending plunger for adjusting the table vertically in the frame, and adjustable braces extending from the corners of the table to the plunger and connecting therewith at points below the top of the recess.

3. In a power press, the combination with a main frame having a recess, of a table for supporting a cutting block, said table having rigid therewith a depending plunger which fits into said recess, means cooperating with the plunger to adjust the table vertically in the main frame, and braces extending from the corners of the table to the portion of the plunger which is received in said recess, the walls of the recess having slots or openings through which the braces extend.

4. n a power press, the combination with a main frame having a recess, of a table for supporting a cutting block, said table having a depending plunger which fits said recess and also having sockets on its under side at its corners, the lower end of said plunger being similarly provided with sockets, and extensible braces, each having one end fitted in the socket of the table and its other end fitted into a socket in the plunger, said recess having slots in its walls through which the braces pass.

5. In a power press, the combination with a main frame having a portion provided with a recess, of a table for supporting the cutting block, said table having a depending plunger which fits in said recess, means for adjusting the plunger and table vertically, and braces extending from the corners of the table to the lower end of the plunger, said braces passing through the recessed por= tion of the frame. 7

(i. In apress,the combination with a table, of a vertically-movable presser situated over the table, a driving shaft for reciprocating the presser, a driving pulley loose on the shaft, a clutch for connecting said pulley to said shaft, a shoe for holding the clutch inoperative, a spring tending to hold the shoe in operative position, a treadle, connections between said treadle and shoe whereby on depression of the treadle the shoe is moved into inoperative position to allow the clutch to become engaged, and means to cause automatically a disruption of said connections when the treadle is fully depressed whereby the shoe is automatically returned to operative position.

7. Inapress, the combination with a table, of a vertically-movable presser situated over the table, a driving shaft for reciprocating the presser, a driving pulley loose on the shaft, a clutch for connecting said pulley to said shaft, a shoe for holding the clutch inoperative, a spring tending to hold the Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

shoe in operative position, a treadle, an arm rigid therewith and provided with a pin, a link pivotally connected to said shoe and having a notch to receive said pin whereby on depression of the treadle the shoe is moved into inoperative position, and means to withdraw the pin from the notch when the treadle is fully depressed whereby the shoe is auton'iatically returned to tive position.

8. In a press, the combination with a table, of a vertically-movable presser situated over the table, a driving shaft for reciprocating the presser, a driving pulley loose on the shatt, a clutch for connecting said pulley to said shaft, a shoe for holding the clutch inoperative, a spring tending to hold the shoe in operative position, a treadle, an arm rigid therewith and provided with a pin, a link pivotally connected to said shoe and having a notch to receive said pin, the end of said link being beveled, and an abut ment against which the beveled end of the link impinges as the treadle is depressed whereby the link is auton'iatically disconnected from the arm and the shoe is returned to its operative position.

In-testiniony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

AUGUST R. SCHOENKY.

Washington, D. 0.

opera- 

